Studio Stories: Creating The Gladiators Experience
- Katapult Team
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Welcome back to another edition of Studio Stories! In this episode, we take an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at one of our most exciting and high-energy projects yet: The Gladiators Experience at the NEC in Birmingham.
We are thrilled to have worked in collaboration with Live Nation, MGM, Floor-Jon Films Inc, and Patrick Doherty Design to create this brand new experience.
We sat down with two key members of the Katapult design team - Art Director Hayley Garnham (aka 'Rocket') and Guest Experience Designer Amelia Maresca (aka 'Taurus') - to discuss how they transformed the iconic BBC television show into a physical, immersive guest journey.
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What is The Gladiators Experience?
Located in the massive halls of the NEC, The Gladiators Experience allows members of the public to step directly into the contenders' shoes. Guests can take on legendary events from the show, including Duel, Hang Tough, The Wall, and the infamous Eliminator. As Hayley highlights, the show is as much of a visual spectacle as it is a physical trial.
"The spectator plays a crucial role... It’s about the atmosphere, the anticipation, that kind of sense of energy that you get from the show. We tried to recreate that feeling of walking into the arena where something big is about to happen."
Mapping the Guest Journey: From Concept to Fabricator
While show designer Patrick Doherty created the arena games themselves, Katapult partnered with Live Nation as the "experience heads" for the project. Our team was responsible for the entire spatial flow surrounding the main action - mapping out everything from initial registration points and the kit room to lockers, the warm-up zone, and retail spaces.
Amelia managed the precise layout and operational design, ensuring that massive wayfinding elements (like giant themed door frames for The Vault and the Kit Room) prevented guests from feeling overwhelmed in the cavernous NEC space.
Simultaneously, Hayley oversaw the overarching visual language, applying the brand's bold, superhero-esque aesthetic to everything from 20-metre walls to the smallest labels.
Archiving Nostalgia in "The Vault"
One of Katapult's standalone triumphs on this project was The Vault - a dedicated space featuring a mini-museum called The Archive alongside custom photo opportunities.
Leveraging Amelia's professional background in the heritage sector, the team physically placed historic items inside the display cases, spanning from original 1990s memorabilia to the costumes worn in the latest BBC series. This space was deliberately designed to capture multigenerational appeal, allowing adults to soak in pure nostalgia while kids engage with the high-octane branding.
"There's a really big collection of stuff all the way from the very beginning like the '90s up until now... We've done quite a lot of thinking about how we could display this collection and put across the information in a really fun and engaging way, and being part of that all the way to actually positioning the objects in the display case was so much fun."
Designing for Every Audience Member
An integral part of the strategy was ensuring that non-participants felt just as included. The team focused heavily on inclusive design by providing immersive photo opportunities - such as holding a pugil stick in front of a Duel backdrop or posing behind a broken destruction panel - allowing anyone to safely engage with the brand without needing elite physical strength.
Designing a temporary attraction also brought unique challenges regarding durability and modularity. The team had to deliver lighter, cost-conscious components that look high-quality but remain easy to disassemble, store, and adapt for future seasons.
Watch the Full Episode
From discussing the intricacies of themed bin design to sharing their personal career journeys from architecture into themed entertainment, Hayley and Amelia give an insightful masterclass on modern experiential design.
Catch the full conversation and hear more about our team’s highlights on our YouTube channel: Watch Studio Stories Ep 20 on YouTube.
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